Search continues in Bahamas after disappearance of plane

Personal effects were not among debris found in a fuel slick in the Bahamas, believed to be from a missing plane that carried four people, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.

The agency announced late in the afternoon that it is continuing to search for survivors in an area 15 miles east of Eleuthera, a 75-minute flight east from Fort Lauderdale.

Aboard the Mitsubishi MU-2B twin engine turboprop were Jennifer Blumin, 40, her sons, ages 3 and 4, all from New York City, and pilot Nathan Ulrich, 52, from Lee, N.H.

The debris was found by a Coast Guard helicopter search team Tuesday afternoon and gathered by a rescue swimmer. A photograph was released on Twitter.

“The debris is from that type of plane,” Petty Officer Luke Clayton said. “It’s not confirmed that it’s their plane, but we believe that it is because it’s in that general location and there is a fresh fuel slick on the surface of the water.”

The search and rescue effort began Monday afternoon after Miami Air Traffic Control lost radar and radio contact from the plane when it was approximately 37 miles east of Eleuthera. It was flying at 24,000 feet with a speed of 300 knots.

The aircraft had departed Borinquen, Puerto Rico, at about 11 a.m. Monday and did not reach Titusville, Fla., its destination.

So far, rescue crews from Clearwater, Miami and Elizabeth City, N.C. have searched for over 30 hours, covering more than 8,200 square miles, the Coast Guard said.

They have been joined at times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

A Coast Guard plane was scheduled to search until sunset Wednesday and a ship that has been in the area all day was to continue looking through the night, a spokesman said.

Joining the investigation is the National Transportation Safety Board.

“We’re gathering information and will be investigating what happened and why it happened,” said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the NTSB.

Blumin is founder of Skylight Group, an event management company that stages fashion shows, photo shoots and corporate events in private and public spaces. From 2005 to 2014, Ulrich served in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary as a pilot at Air Station Cape Cod, the Coast Guard said.

The aircraft was owned by a consulting company on Long Island, N.Y., according to Federal Aviation Administration records.

JOE CAVARETTA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Patients and staff of the William “Bill” King VA Clinic in Sunrise take part in the VA2K Walk and Roll on Wednesday. Every year, veterans, families, VA employees, volunteers and community members join in the event at VA medical facilities across the...